Significant new electrooptical signal processing techniques have recently been developed for improving the capabilities and utilization of information which may be expressed in electrooptic form. One recent electrooptical engagement array architecture has demonstrated a capability for performing matrix-matrix multiplication using collimated incoherent light. R. P. Bocker, H. J. Caulfield and Keith Bromley in their article entitled "Rapid Unbiased Bipolar Incoherent Calculator Cube" appearing in Applied Optics, Vol. 22, page 804 Mar. 15, 1983 disclose the essential components and mode of operation of this new signal-processing device. Their device represented an advance in the state-of-the-art and, as such, formed the subject matter of the first above referenced copending patent application and provided for new capabilities using non-coherent electrooptical analog techniques. In a later paper by R. P. Bocker, S. R. Clayton and Keith Bromley entitled "Electrooptical Matrix Multiplication Using the Twos Complement Arithmetic for Improved Accuracy" Applied Optics, Vol. 22, page 2019 July 1, 1983, a twos complement binary fixed-point arithmetic was applied to the electrooptical engagement array architecture to multiply two bipolar matrices with improved accuracy, this was the subject matter of the second above referenced copending patent application.
Having the basic architecture in hand, two recent publications, "Iterative Color-Multiplexed, Electro-Optical Processor" by D. Psaltis, D. Casasent, and M. Carlotto appearing in Optical Letters 4 on pages 348-350, November 1979 and R. P. Bocker's article entitled "Algebraic Operations Performable with Electro-Optical Engagement Array Processors", Proceedings of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers 388, on pages 212-220, January 1983, indicate that other mathematical operations are feasible. These operations include higher-order matrix operations such as LU factorization, matrix inversions, and QR factorization achievable through repeated use of the matrix-matrix multiply operation; however, these additional procedures, sophisticated as they are, are limited by the described architecture that use only two matrices of encoded information.
Thus, a continuing need exists in the state-of-the-art for an updated electrooptical engagement array architecture having the capability for performing mathematical operations such as the computation of the cross-ambiguity function, and calculation of triple correlations.